Rob Roy: The value of honor

Today we’re bombarded with movies depicting comic book heroes and CGI action heroes. How often do we find a movie with a hero so authentic and believable that his character becomes an object of contemplation for its own sake? Ayn Rand thought this was the primary purpose of portraying moral ideals in fiction. And it’s just what we find in Rob Roy.

The outstanding 1995 movie Rob Roy was released recently on Blu-ray. Directed by Michael Caton-Jones, it stars Liam Neeson as the early 18th century Scottish Highland hero Robert Roy MacGregor. The transfer to Blu-ray is excellent, doing full justice to the film’s magnificent cinematographic rendering of the Scottish Highlands. For that reason alone it is worth buying, even if you own the DVD.

But the new release also provides an opportunity to watch this historical epic in a high-quality format that enhances the imaginative experience it offers. Since Rob Roy has already been reviewed at Atlasphere, I shall restrict myself to appraising what I see as one of the film’s greatest virtues: its probing exploration of the theme of honor.

Since Rob Roy’s premiere in 1995, many other movies have been released that depict historical epic heroes as well as comic book heroes and thriller action heroes. So for anyone who loves to watch heroic dramas, there is no shortage of films to satisfy a craving for larger-than-life heroes. Rob Roy, however, is distinct in giving us a heroic tale in which the events and characters are presented from a clear and incisive moral perspective.

Drawing on the real life of Robert Roy MacGregor (1671–1734), the screenwriter Alan Sharp skillfully adapts the historical material to fashion a hero who, in his resistance to the corrupt and violent society in which he finds himself, not only displays exceptional heroic qualities but also emerges as a man of deep moral convictions. According to Sharp, Rob Roy was conceived as a Western set in the Scottish Highlands.

Like the Old West, the Scottish Highlands in the early 18th century was a lawless country, resisting the imposition of the legal system that governed the Lowlands. This setting thus forms a suitable background for the portrayal of a hero who, in the absence of law, acts according to a personal code of honor. But Rob Roy goes further than any Western I know of by presenting a hero who is not just guided by an ideal of honor, but is passionately committed to this ideal, making it the ruling principle of his life.

In its portrayal of a distinctly moral hero, Rob Roy conforms to Ayn Rand’s Romantic credo that the highest purpose of a fictional work is to project a moral ideal, or, as she liked to phrase it, to hold up an image of “man as he might be and ought to be.” But whereas Rand, in her own fiction, aimed to present a universal moral ideal — personified in heroes who possess virtues she regarded as essential to human flourishing at any time or in any place — Rob Roy gives us a hero whose virtues are intimately bound up with the time and place in which he lives.

Liam Neeson as Robert Roy MacGregor

The prefatory text at the beginning of the movie alerts us to the special significance of honor during this time period. In the early 1700s, it notes, the centuries-old clan system in Scotland was slowly being extinguished due to “famine, disease and the greed of great Noblemen” and the fact that many Scots, as a result, were emigrating to the Americas. Further, it states that the film’s story “symbolises the attempt of the individual to withstand these processes and, even in defeat, retain respect and honor.”

This emphasis on honor as the individual’s effort to hold on to his values in a time of historical upheaval makes Rob Roy a moving lament on a vanishing way of life, represented by Rob and the Highlanders. But it is also a celebration of the moral ideals peculiar to this way of life.

It is worth noting that the representation of honor in Rob Roy reflects codes of conduct widely current during the 18th century. The standard view was that honor is a quality of moral nobleness and integrity, residing in a person’s character. In Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language (1755), for example, honor is defined as “nobility of soul, magnanimity, and a scorn of meanness.” This dates back to Aristotle, who similarly linked honor to the virtue of magnanimity.

For Aristotle, however, honor was primarily an attitude of esteem or admiration bestowed, by others, on a man of great worthiness. This notion of honor also gained currency during the 18th century. But, under the influence of a decadent aristocracy, it often lost its moral import and decayed into a claim to worthiness derived from nobility of class rather than nobility of soul, something a person of high rank saw as his rightful due by virtue of his superior social position, regardless of moral merit.

For Rob, honor is above all a matter of self-respect, grounded in his own sense of moral worth, independent of class or how he is judged by other people.

In the figure of Rob Roy, we see an honor that fully accords with the conception of honor as a moral quality. Interestingly, it also accords with Ayn Rand’s statement in her West Point address in 1974 that “Honor is self-esteem made visible in action.”

For Rob, honor is above all a matter of self-respect, grounded in his own sense of moral worth, independent of class or how he is judged by other people. This is reflected in his words to his sons that “All men that have honor are kings, but not all kings have honor.... Honor is what no man can give you and none can take away. Honor is a man’s gift to himself.” His words also indicate that he sees honor as an essentially selfish virtue, marked by a person’s unswerving loyalty to his own principles of right conduct.

What follows includes some mild spoilers, but nothing that should ruin the experience for most first-time viewers.

An important aspect of Rob’s dedication to honor is that it is an integral part of his role as clan-chief. This is demonstrated in the opening scene, where Rob and some of his men hunt down a band of Highland thieves who have stolen cattle owned by the powerful Marquis of Montrose and protected by Rob, working for Montrose. Singling out the leader of the band, Rob kills him in a man-to-man fight, an act that shows him as a leader of decisive, even ruthless, action. But it also shows him as a leader unwilling to resort to unnecessary violence as he lets the rest of the band go free, recognizing that they are stealing because of famine and poverty, not because they are bad people.

This humane quality of Rob’s honor is accentuated in the following scene. Here we see him as a man capable of deep compassion, disturbed by the sight of women and children in his own clan suffering from hunger, ill health, and coldness. Feeling, as a leader, responsibility for the well-being of his clan members, he decides to try and alleviate their plight by taking up a loan from Montrose in order to buy and sell cattle at a profit — a plan that fails because of the successful scheme to rob him of that loan by two of Montrose’s henchmen: the thoroughly debased English fop Archibald Cunningham and the sly and conniving factor Killearn.

Mary (Jessica Lange) and Rob (Liam Neeson)

Rob’s concern with honor is also exhibited in his caring and loving devotion to his wife, Mary MacGregor, herself a woman of great honor. As he tells his sons, “Women are the heart of honor, and we cherish and protect it in them.” Rob here reveals an idealizing attitude towards women that harks back to chivalric ideals of courtly love. But in the non-courtly world of the Scottish Highlands, his chivalric sentiment is manifested in a warm and sensual love relationship with his wife rather than knightly idolization of a lady from afar. “Do you know how fine you are to me, Mary MacGregor?” Rob asks his wife, expressing a love that in its revering affection contrasts starkly with the derisive view of love presented in the rakish Cunningham, who, after having made a servant girl pregnant, responds to the girl’s declaration of love with the remark: “Love is a dunghill, Betty, and I am but a cock that climbs upon it to crow.”

But the most salient feature of Rob’s honor is his integrity, his pride in being a man who cannot be bought or made to compromise. This is highlighted in the pivotal scene with Rob and Montrose, where Rob, having defaulted on the loan from Montrose after the money has been stolen from him, declines Montrose’s offer to acquit him of his debt if he is willing to bear false witness against another prominent nobleman, the Duke of Argyll. In doing so, however, Rob insults Montrose, stating that “What you have asked is below me as it should be beneath Your Lordship.” Stunned by this disrespectful affront to his lordly superiority, Montrose orders Rob’s arrest. Although Rob is able to escape, the result is that he is declared an outlaw and his family brutally driven from their home.

This confrontation between Rob and Montrose brilliantly dramatizes the opposed views of honor as nobility of soul versus nobility of class.

This confrontation between Rob and Montrose brilliantly dramatizes the opposed views of honor as nobility of soul versus nobility of class. In the pointed clash of values between the two men, we see, demonstrated in action, the contrast between the principled nature of Rob’s honor and the perverted sense of honor cultivated by a corrupt aristocracy represented by men like Montrose. For a vain and cunning cynic like Montrose, nobility of soul has no psychological reality and no practical value, only the nobility of rank, with its unfounded claim to worthiness.

At the same time, the scene marks the major turning point of the plot, as it launches Rob on his career as an outlaw thief, earning legendary fame as the “Robin Hood of the Highlands” who steals from the rich to give to the poor. But even this is presented as consistent with Rob’s honor, since his decision to steal from Montrose is to harm him economically, in retaliation against the harm Montrose has done to him and his family and thus to ensure, as he tells his outraged clan, that “Honor will be satisfied.”

It cannot be denied that much of the dramatic color of Rob Roy derives from its coterie of several intriguing villains. Greatly contributing to this are supreme performances from Tim Roth as Cunningham and John Hurt as Montrose. Tim Roth, especially, excels in his portrayal of foppish decadence. Yet unlike many other movies that pit noble goodness against depraved villainy, the villains do not steal the show. In Rob Roy, it is — at least for this viewer — the hero that takes center stage.

Tim Roth as Archibald Cunningham

One reason for this is the sheer power of Liam Neeson’s performance in the lead role. With his special ability to convey rugged strength softened by a gentle and sensitive demeanor, he makes Rob Roy a commanding presence throughout the movie.

But most of all, this Highland hero captures our interest because of the moral depth of his characterization. In Rob Roy, we get a larger-than-life hero we can actually believe in as a real human being. Unlike the many comic book heroes that dominate the screen today, his heroic stature does not derive from any superhuman qualities, but from his profound commitment to his moral values. At the same time, he is no paragon of flawless virtue. While the film invites us to admire him for his unyielding dedication to his honor, it also makes us see him in a more critical light as a man whose intransigence exacts a terrible cost through the suffering it brings upon himself, his family, and his clan.

His heroic stature does not derive from any superhuman qualities, but from his profound commitment to his moral values.

Yet the flawed aspects of Rob’s honor are substantially toned down. In fact, through his wife Mary we are urged to view his flaws with some mildness, as an ineliminable part of his virtue. Despite the dire consequences of her husband’s unbending nature, she concedes on several occasions that it is what makes him the noble man he is and the man she loves.

Especially poignant is the scene with Mary and the Duke of Argyll where Mary, after Rob has been captured by Montrose, visits the Duke to plead for help in obtaining Rob’s release. She reveals to him that the original reason for Rob’s capture was his refusal to denounce the Duke to Montrose. When the Duke wonders why he would do this, Mary replies that he did it “not for Your Grace, but for his own honor, which he holds dearer than myself or his sons, his clan or kin, and for which I have oft chided him. But it is him and his way, and were he other, he would not be Robert Roy MacGregor.”

Still less would he be a man worthy of our highest admiration.

In her aesthetic theory, Ayn Rand stressed that the primary purpose of fictional projections of a moral ideal is, not moral instruction, but contemplation, viewed as an end in itself. What the portrayal of a moral ideal gives us, she urged, is first of all the pleasure of looking up to a hero, of contemplating a concretized image of man at his best, as he might be and ought to be, irrespective of what we may learn from it.

Rob Roy is a film that offers such pleasure. To some, the ideal its hero represents may seem quaint and irrelevant in our modern world. But this should not prevent one from taking pleasure in watching this noble Highlander, and to admire him as an exemplar of a dedication to moral values that, in its heroic grandeur, transcends the limits of his particular historical context.

Kirsti Minsaas is a Norwegian literary scholar. She has a Doctoral Degree in Literature from the University of Oslo, where she also has taught British literature. Her dissertation was on Aristotle’s Poetics and Shakespearean tragedy, and she has published several articles on Renaissance literature and poetics. She has, in addition, given lectures on Ayn Rand’s fiction and aesthetic theory, both in Europe and the US. Her articles on Ayn Rand have been published in the essay-collection The Literary Art of Ayn Rand (The Objectivist Center, 2005) and The Journal of Ayn Rand Studies. Now retired, she is currently working on a book about the Romantic vision of Ayn Rand’s fiction.

16 comments from readers

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Thanks Kristi for your inspiringly thoughtful and honorable review. I watched Rob Roy once again last night where it was shown nationally on cable TV. I wanted to revisit it to compare it with my first viewing and enjoyed it even better than I'd remembered. Extremely well written and produced, Rob Roy also stays very dramatically focused throughout with a clearly moral story that never preaches and is a pleasure to behold.

At the onset, I became momentarily confused that perhaps I'd previously misinterpreted the hero as one who might be the typical naturalist underdog type who succeeds despite his mediocre morality. But as the plot gracefully unfolds, we discover a careful presentation of Scotish social metaphysics that balances the various degrees of heroic, individualistic honor against the collectivist moral relativisms of the villan's shortcomings. Excellent dramatization succinctly shows the characters differing moral values so we can clearly empathise with not only the hero's honor, but also from within its historical context, better comprehend the vluable nature of honor, and the destructive dangers of dishonor.

Rob Roy's heroic honor is finally validated and made even more universal when the Duke Of Argyll recognizes, is reawkened by, and repays Roy's honor by lending not only his sanction but also sharing his support in Roy's final climactic duel with his evil nemesis Archibald Cunningham. This final bond of honor between the two cutlurally separated Scotts, Roy and Argyll, beautifully dramatizes the fundamental positive value of honor to both individuals and the critically important moral comparisons among not only the highlanders but the nobles as well.

I was also reminded of Ridley Scott's first film The Duelists with it's protracted 30 year long duel scenes and will now go back to revisit that film too and compare both films views of honor. And on a more personal level, my own mother's Scotish ancestors are some of those very same Scotts who came to America during this period in history. I couldn't help but to consider their honor along with their headlong flight to the new world to get away from such European political strife rather than sucumb to its decadent aristocracy.

I second Joshua's comment on your observation of the bond of honor between Rob and the Duke of Argyll. This means that Rob Roy is not a Marxist movie about class warfare, as one might superficially think, but about basic moral differences between individuals that cut across class.

Thank you also for bringing my attention to Ridley Scott's The Duellists, which I have not seen, but now intend to see. Another movie that also deals with honor, viewed as moral integrity, is Anthony Mann's El Cid (1961), starring Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren. I recently bought it in Blu-ray format, and found it very watchable. Its epic scale is greater than in Rob Roy, and the cinematography breathtaking, but its moral penetration not quite as deep. But it's interesting to see to what extent personal honor -- for ceveral centuries -- was hailed as a central heroic virtue.

It's interesting that you bring in your Scottish ancestors. I have in recent years done a great deal of genealogical research, and it has changed my experience of history. I suddenly realize that the historical events I read about are not just about people, unrelated to me, who lived in the past, but that my ancestors were involved in many of these events. And that has made history come alive for me in a different way than before. I have done this research on the genealogical website Geni. And if the findings on Geni are correct, the real Robert Roy McGregor was my 11th cousin 8 times removed. Distant, yes, but still quite intriguing.

"This final bond of honor between the two cutlurally separated Scotts, Roy and Argyll, beautifully dramatizes the fundamental positive value of honor to both individuals and the critically important moral comparisons among not only the highlanders but the nobles as well. "

Kirsti, thank you for a wonderful review! I especially enjoyed the way you demonstrated the operation of a consistent theme throughout Rob Roy's story. That particular kind of stylization, which shows that the world is a place of meaning, is just as valuable to me as the depiction of a moral hero.

One aspect of the film I was interested in was the kind of honor exhibited by Rob Roy. It's easy to forget that honor is not an unequivocal virtue. Cultures of honor tend to be very touchy, inclined to dueling and paternalistic about women. The antebellum American South was such a culture.

Clearly the difference between these two visions of honor is, as you alluded, that Rob Roy's kind of honor was self-contained, where that of most honor-based cultures is honor in the eyes of others.

So, Kirsti, what can we all do to get you to write more movie and/or book reviews? Do you accept bribes?

Kirsti, how exciting. How far along is the book? When is it coming out? Your analyses of Ayn Rand's fiction have always been brilliant; they helped me see things in her works that I had never seen before despite many readings. I expect your coming book will do the same.

Kurt, I noticed after I posted, that you had posted this. Once again your comments and esthetic and philosophical observations are pithy and clever. I'm becoming quite a fan of yours as well as of Kirsti. And I'll pay into the bribe fund!

Excellent perspective on what is probably the best romantic realist movie of cinema history (or at least I can't think of any from the past 100 years that beats this). Given the rich and eloquent script by Sharp, the great direction by Caton-Jones and art direction and cinematography, a cast that has no weaknesses but rather is loaded with greatness, an excellent soundtrack -- this is a gem. Thanks for giving it more attention, since it has been seriously under-reported in the critical press.

The theme of honor that you treat in detail is well done. I've always seen the good type of honor presented in this movie as being a species of integrity as described in the Objectivist ethics, and largely that's how your analysis comes out.

The movie, aside from being romantic realist in Ayn Rand's sense of this category of literary work, it is also one of the greatest if not the greatest cinema *romances*, as noted by Cynthia in these comments -- because the romance between Rob Roy and Mary is so concrete and convincing and based on their personal values.

Another aspect, touched on in the review, and that should be particularly interesting to Objectivists, is that Rob Roy is portrayed as an entrepreneur. The source of the ultimate conflict is the loan Rob takes from Montrose. The reason for the transaction was to buy cattle low, and sell high via the clan's intermediate stewardship and transport to valuable markets. That this didn't come to pass because of evil men is a grim part of the movie, which overshadows the entrepreneurial spirit Rob displays so well.

I'm glad you bring attention to the "romance" aspect of Rob Roy, which is also one of its great assets. In fact, Rob Roy is the only movie I can think of that has a truly romantic love relationship between husband and wife. Most romantic love stories are about young people before they get married. Here we get a beautiful depiction of a mature couple whose love and devotion for each other -- apart for some minor quarrels -- seems unabated after years of marriage.

Another memorable line (from Mary): "I love the bones of you Robert McGregor, but you sometimes take too much to heart that canna' be helped"

Thank you Kirsti. Rob Roy is possibly my favorite movie for all the reasons you name and a couple of others as well.

It is one of the few works where the romance makes sense; you don't have to just take it as a given that these two love each other, you can actually see why. And in that regard, one of my favorite scenes (after the big ones of course, such as the sword fight at the end) is his initial arrival home to his wife. The first thing he does is bathe and only then joins her in bed. It tells so much about his character and their romance.

I have often been surprised that Braveheart, which came out the same year, sucked so much air from Rob Roy. I found Braveheart unnecessarily violent, and quite meaningless, yet many Objectivists seem to respond to it.

How nice to see Rob Roy getting its due - and from one of the best literary analysts I know.

A wonderful review, Kirsti. It gets inside of what makes the movie make you tingle with inspiration. Terrific movie and a terrific, thoughtful review of it.

For those who have not seen Rob Roy, I'd like to mention that the acting across the entire cast is unusually superb. The villains are made real and visceral, illuminating with uncanny clarity the distinction between people of clear, intelligent, constructive moral character and people with keen intelligence and genuine skill but whose life view renders them immoral and destructive. It is one of the strong contrasts of the movie and one of its strengths that the villains are not stupid. The are keenly intelligent and capable, but their moral fiber and choices are culturally destructive. It illustrates well the need for a philosophy of values that champions life and the best within us, and the cultural consequences of philosophies that are debasing of the human spirit.

Kirsti, your review is exceptional, by far the best I've ever read of this exceptional movie.

Thank you to all commentators so far for your thoughtful comments, and for adding valuable points to my review. Apparently, you all know and love the movie already. My hope is that this review will stimulate readers who have not seen it -- and I suspect that there are many -- to buy it and watch it. It truly deserves a greater audience than it has had so far.

The comparison with Braveheart is interesting. Personally, I think that Rob Roy is by far the superior movie, but Braveheart, obviously, has a wider popular appeal. I just checked how many people like Rob Roy on Facebook compared with Braveheart. While the Braveheart fan page has 3 694 150 likes, Rob Roy has 1 877. I find this quite incredible. The numbers for the information page are a little better, but not much: 490 841 for Braveheart and 33 188 for Rob Roy.

I shall not here go into a lengthy analysis of the reasons for this discrepancy, but I do wonder whether the appeal of Braveheart is that it has a hero who fights for freedom and independence, while Rob Roy has a hero who fights for his personal honor and integrity. For most people, especially the young, it will be easier to relate to the first than to the second. We are living in a culture where it's becoming increasingly difficult to trace any deep interest in or concern with moral issues. For this reason, I suspect that many viewers find the moral orientation of Rob Roy uncongenial to their own value-orientation. The question of honor -- except in its undesirable form of honor killings in some Muslim communities -- is not precisely a hot topic. But for me, it is precisely the focus on honor, and the depth and brilliance with which it is dramatized, that makes Rob Roy such a great and exceptional movie.

One theory I've heard is that, since Braveheart came out first and had a sizeable marketing budget, potential audiences interpreted Rob Roy as a rehash of the same historical style and themes — sort of a Braveheart II — and yawned because Braveheart was long enough already.

Rob Roy is one of my favourite movies.
Honor takes practise and commitment. Here's a bit of mine.

I attended a rally against an Indian reserve not too long ago to try to bring equality before the law in Ontario. There were other reasons also, such as bringing to light the fact Indian chiefs in Canada and some of America's northern states have Indians who are setting up delegations to go to Iran for help with their "self-government" lack of funding.

This particular Indian reservation I went to had the Palestinian flag flying on its grounds.

A small band of us (CANACE (stands for Canadians for Charter Equality) were determined to walk through a physical line made up of tribal Indians, communist agitators, union thugs, black bloc members (those who created anarchy at Toronto's G20 meetings).

You see, the same thing happening towards Muslims being protected happens here. In any confrontation, government takes the side of the aggressors (Muslims) and will not allow North American citizens to lawfully protest. Canadian Indians are protected worse than union thugs.

We, the peaceful rally members, attempting a peaceful walk on an open public by the Indian reserve were arrested not the vicious, unruly mob that in its history, invaded nearby homes, threatened the citizens, set up blockades, and physically assaulted Canadian citizens including the police themselves.

Check youtube: 11 arrested Caledonia

Check youtube: heros and cowards caledonia

Check youtube: Michael Coren Ted Harlson

Equality before the law means a lot; fairness, substance, consistency, and justice. It means a government of law and not of men. Applying equality before the law means pressure group warfare could end.

To post comments, please log in first. The Atlasphere is a social networking site for admirers of Ayn Rand's novels, most notably The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. In addition to our online magazine, we offer a member directory and a dating service. If you share our enjoyment of Ayn Rand's novels, please sign up or log in to post comments.

Details the mentor-protege relationship that young novelist-to-be Erika Holzer (Double Crossing, Eye for an Eye) enjoyed with Rand in the 60s. Includes a short story by Holzer, and her writing exercises. See the sample chapter published at the Atlasphere... »More